police say the 24-year-old sam nordquist was tortured for weeks before his remains were discovered in a field. he had been reported missing by his family. five people are now charged with his murder. here's abc's ike ejiochi. >> reporter: tonight, five people have been arrested and charged in connection with the disappearance and brutal murder of a 24-year-old transgender man from minnesota. a crime police are calling beyond depraved. >> this is one of the most horrific crimes i have ever investigated. >> reporter: police say sam nordquist arrived in the finger lake regions of new york state in september, staying at a motel with a 38-year-old and others. on february 9th, new york state police launching a missing persons investigation for nordquist following a welfare request from family. on february 13th, police executing a search warrant at the motel room, later finding human remains believed to be those of nordquist 15 miles away in a field. investigators finding evidence suggesting nordquist was tortured and sexually assaulted for months. >> sam was subjected to repeated acts of vi

police say the 24-year-old sam nordquist was tortured for weeks before his remains were discovered in a field. he had been reported missing by his family. five people are now charged with his murder. here's abc's ike ejiochi. >> reporter: tonight, five people have been arrested and charged in connection with the disappearance and brutal murder of a 24-year-old transgender man from minnesota. a crime police are calling beyond depraved. >> this is one of the most horrific crimes i have ever investigated. >> reporter: police say sam nordquist arrived in the finger lakes region in september, staying in a hotel with others. on february 9th, new york state police launching a missing persons investigation for nordquist following a welfare request from family. on february 13th, police executing a search warrant at the hotmotel room, later findin human remains believed to be those of nordquist 15 miles away in a field. investigators finding evidence suggesting nordquist was tortured and sexually assaulted for months. >> sam was subjected to repeated acts of violence and torture. in a manner th

investigators say nordquist was abused and tortured for more than a month before his death.ttackers allegedly punched, kicked, and struck him with numerous objects. police say they moved his body about 20 miles away to conceal the crime. >> they can rot. they are scum. they are evil. >> reporter: authorities have so far not ruled out classifying this murder as a hate crime. if convicted, each of the five suspects in this case could face 15 years to life in prison. shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. >>> one week after attending the super bowl, president donald trump showed up at another great american sporting event, the daytona 500, where he greeted the drivers before the race. this week, president trump is forging ahead with purging the federal workforce and hitting some speed bumps along the way. he is now facing at least 70 lawsuits nationwide. cbs' willie james inman is in west palm beach, florida, tracking it all. >> reporter: president trump had racing fans in daytona looking up as air force one did a low fly-by over the speedway before landing. on the ground, the pres

now, nordquist family says he left for new york after meeting his girlfriend online.ave since been arrested for his murder. >> i had a bad. >> feeling off. >> the start that it wasn't going to end. well if he came out here and he wouldn't. listen to me because. >> he thought that he was. >> in love. >> with this woman. and he thought. >> this woman loved. >> him back. >> she kept telling him. >> that he. >> was. >> loved and he would she would take care of him and just sold him on a dream to get him to come out here or. >> how can. >> somebody be so evil? >> north squid's mother described her son as the type of person who would give you the shirt off his back. he was kind and he was loved. she thinks of him while looking at stuffed animals that she and her son collected over the years, that rest on the dashboard of her car. she said they had a close relationship, adding, quote, we were really close. we used to get in the vehicle, go driving around and dream and look at these rich houses. that was our these rich houses. that was our th(fisher investments) at fisher inv

then human remains believed to be those of nordquist, were discovered on february 13th. captain kelly swift of the new york state police said this about what they found sam was subjected to repeated acts of violence and torture in a manner that ultimately led to his death. they believe that he was tortured for weeks before he died. investigators, though still working to determine the relationship between nordquist and all of the people now charged. and we also have an important update on pope francis. just in the word from the vatican is this that the pope has a polymicrobial infection of his respiratory tract, adding that tests indicate a, quote, complex clinical picture that will require the hospital treatment to be changed. the pontiff did not lead sunday's prayers as he usually does, though he did send a message thanking doctors and health care workers for their care. the pope is 88 years old. he was hospitalized on friday. we reported this for you after having difficulty breathing and recovering from a series of respiratory issues. and then there is snl. saturday ni

so, jonathan, i want to bring up the this horrific murder in new york state. 24 year old sam nordquistnder man. i'm quoting transgender man who had been subjected to repeated acts of violence and torture between december of last year and this month. this is according to the captain, kelly kelly swift of the state police's bureau of criminal investigation. a trans man found murdered. and i'm bringing this up because this this comes, as we have seen, a concerted effort, a concerted effort to target trans people in this country, particularly by the trump administration, because they're. >> the easiest enemy. people don't think they know they're trying to other trans people in a way that makes it easier for you to say, well, this is something that affects them. people i don't know, people i don't care about. trans people fight in your military and keep you and your family safe. trans people work in every industry that you and your family support. they're not going anywhere. and even as this administration tries to remove trans people from the history of the queer movement at the stonewall.

. >> sam nordquist, as you said, was a. 24 year old transgender man from minnesota. had entered into a relationship with a. woman here in new york online, traveled to new york, upstate new york in late 2024 and then early this year lost contact with his family. they described being fearful for his safety, concerned about his. >> state of being and what was going. >> on here and now. authorities say that they have found evidence that five people, including that woman he had entered a relationship with, had beaten, tortured him in a motel room in upstate new york before dumping his body in a neighboring county. take a listen to the family, describing some of their heartbreak as they learned this news. >> how can somebody be so evil? >> i had a bad feeling off the start that it wasn't going to end well. if he came out here and he wouldn't listen to me because he thought that he was in love with this woman, and he thought this woman loved him back. >> all five of these individuals are facing second degree murder charges. and i should note, too, that two of the five actua